Asia and Pacific
Digital Asia links (China special!): WeChat, intelligence wars, Taylor Swift, Spartan models and more
The Asia Pacific is the most dynamic digital landscape in the world, home to the fastest adopters of new technologies and the largest concentration of mobile and social media…
A frank and refreshing assessment of Australia-Indonesia relations
The great strength of Ken Ward's Condemned to Crisis? is that it confronts head-on some of the false constructs surrounding Australia-Indonesia relations. Although many of the…
Talisman Sabre 2015: Bigger and more amphibious
Exercise Talisman Sabre is winding down, bringing to an end two weeks of high tempo US-Australia war games around the continent.
Held on alternate years, Talisman Sabre is the…
Why Japan hangs tough on the history issue
In one of my previous essays for The Interpreter, I argued that Japan at some point needs to come around on the history questions that divide it so sharply from South Korea and…
Russia gives way to China in BRICS and SCO
This month saw a super summit of two organisations that are significant for both Russia and China. The 7th BRICS summit and 15th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit,…
What's the harm in being transparent about the TPP negotiations?
Now that Congress has provided President Obama with Trade Promotion Authority as we enter the last phase of the TPP negotiations, the treaty seems likely to go ahead. What is left…
Digital Asia links: Chinese bloggers, health apps, #SelfieWithDaughter and more
The Asia Pacific is the most dynamic digital landscape in the world, home to the fastest adopters of new technologies and the largest concentration of mobile and social media…
China's record shows it isn't ready for global leadership
Michael Thawley's comments on China's present global leadership credentials and ambitions are correct and phrased in the refreshingly direct manner Australians usually take as a…
Sino-Pakistan civil nuclear cooperation: A growing challenge to the global nuclear order
The Pakistani newspaper Dawn declared that at least 1200 people had died in Karachi, capital of the worst affected Pakistani state, Sindh, during the recent week-long heatwave…
Is China ready for global leadership?
Is China ready for a larger global role and should the outside world, in particular a regional partner like Australia, embrace this possibility? Evidently not, judging by remarks…